Portland startup Bettery Inc. wants to green the battery business with vending machines.

The U.S. household battery market — AAs, AAAs and the like — is worth $3.5 billion and 99 percent of those sold can only be used once and often end up in landfills because they're difficult to recycle.

In the first quarter of next year, Bettery, working with with rechargeable battery manufacturers, will roll out a pilot program with a few key Northwest partners. The goal will be to determine whether a convenient kiosk — with competitively priced rechargeable batteries that can be returned when they run out of juice and exchanged for fresh ones — can lure consumers to adopt the greener, rechargeable technology.